Robert Payne

The late Robert Payne infuses this exceptional history with the energy and vivid characterizations of a novel. He demonstrates that the Crusades were never a simple battle between the forces of Islam and Christianity, but a complex series of conflicts involving Muslims and Latin and Greek Christians, whose mutual distrust, ignorance and hatred doomed any possibility of a stable peace.

I hate to sound like part of the appearance-is-everything crowd, but getting used to a blond-haired, blue-eyed James Bond will be like getting used to a blond Superman ["Here Comes Trouble, Nov. 12]. ROBERT PAYNE Studio City A Sunday Calendar cover story about Daniel Craig and the new Bond movie; a Business article about Daniel Craig, Sony and the new Bond movie ["Sony Shakes the Dice With 'Casino Royale,' " Nov. 10], helping the reader out by letting us know that it will be a huge Sony product-placement vehicle; and a big picture of Daniel Craig on the front of Nov. 5's Calendar.

So the Republicans are now talking about term limits for Congress. It seems not very long ago they were talking about repealing the 22nd Amendment so Ronald Reagan could run for a third term. I wish they'd make up their minds. ROBERT PAYNE Studio City

Thanks for your article "Actually, Shakespeare's the Man" [by Susan King, March 16], on the various movies adapted from William Shakespeare's plays. While I realize that any list of Shakespeare-inspired films can never be complete, I thought I would add four more that deserve to be mentioned. One of the best-known cinematic extrapolations from the Bard of Stratford is "Shakespeare in Love," which won the 1998 Academy Award for best picture, and for good reason: This wonderful "what-if?"

I would like to assure your readers to believe Mark Swed and not the headline of Swed's March 29 commentary "Newfangled Elgar." Anthony Payne, and not Robert Payne, is the contemporary English composer who should have received credit in the headline. It is the same Anthony Payne whom audiences and critics have encountered at Southwest Chamber Music concerts in 1997 and 1993. JEFF VON DER SCHMIDT Artistic Director Southwest Chamber Music Pasadena

As Lawrence Christon's commentary shows, the Asian-American side of the "Miss Saigon" controversy has become perhaps the greatest casualty of the anti-multiculturalist backlash. The protests against a Caucasian in the main role were intended to point out the discriminatory glass ceilings and double standards that virtually prohibit talented Asian actors from achieving lead roles in mainstream American entertainment. But the Asian actors' legitimate grievances continue to be misrepresented as censorial insistence or race-based casting.

I hate to sound like part of the appearance-is-everything crowd, but getting used to a blond-haired, blue-eyed James Bond will be like getting used to a blond Superman ["Here Comes Trouble, Nov. 12]. ROBERT PAYNE Studio City A Sunday Calendar cover story about Daniel Craig and the new Bond movie; a Business article about Daniel Craig, Sony and the new Bond movie ["Sony Shakes the Dice With 'Casino Royale,' " Nov. 10], helping the reader out by letting us know that it will be a huge Sony product-placement vehicle; and a big picture of Daniel Craig on the front of Nov. 5's Calendar.

I've just read that the upcoming movie "White Man's Burden" will depict a hypothetical world where whites are second-class citizens in a black-dominated America ("Turnabout of Foul Play," by Chris Willman, March 19). The film's makers hope that it will help white audiences empathize with what African Americans experience on a day-to-day basis. I hope the filmmakers are right and "White Man's Burden" will lead to more interracial understanding, but given the current backlash against minority empowerment, I'm not optimistic.

Thanks for your cover stories on Hong Kong cinema (June 15) and Chow Yun-Fat (July 13). I think that Hong Kong movies are the most intriguing and energetic in the world today, and I'm glad to see Calendar giving them the attention they deserve. The recent exodus of Hong Kong directors and stars to the West reminds me of Germany's Weimar filmmakers fleeing Hitler in the 1930s. I hope that Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed power brokers won't give the world any reason to extend the analogy any further.

Regarding the Oct. 4 Film Clip item on the casting of "The House of the Spirits," the movie version of Isabel Allende's Latin American novel: Clara del Valle Trueba, one of the female leads, is a Chilean woman, a Latina. But I couldn't help noticing that, of the 15 actresses considered for the part, all were white. Furthermore, the film's other lead Latino roles will also be played by white actors, Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close. Will the day ever come in Hollywood when a meaty, sought-after Caucasian lead role is being cast, and the first 15 actors considered for the part are all non-white?

I would like to assure your readers to believe Mark Swed and not the headline of Swed's March 29 commentary "Newfangled Elgar." Anthony Payne, and not Robert Payne, is the contemporary English composer who should have received credit in the headline. It is the same Anthony Payne whom audiences and critics have encountered at Southwest Chamber Music concerts in 1997 and 1993. JEFF VON DER SCHMIDT Artistic Director Southwest Chamber Music Pasadena

Perhaps it's just millennial blues, but we seem to be having a bit more trouble than usual letting go of our century's favorite figures. Browsing in a book store the other day, for instance, I noticed a new mystery novel in which Groucho Marx is, with full permission of the Groucho estate, the detective.

Thanks for your cover stories on Hong Kong cinema (June 15) and Chow Yun-Fat (July 13). I think that Hong Kong movies are the most intriguing and energetic in the world today, and I'm glad to see Calendar giving them the attention they deserve. The recent exodus of Hong Kong directors and stars to the West reminds me of Germany's Weimar filmmakers fleeing Hitler in the 1930s. I hope that Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed power brokers won't give the world any reason to extend the analogy any further.

I've just read that the upcoming movie "White Man's Burden" will depict a hypothetical world where whites are second-class citizens in a black-dominated America ("Turnabout of Foul Play," by Chris Willman, March 19). The film's makers hope that it will help white audiences empathize with what African Americans experience on a day-to-day basis. I hope the filmmakers are right and "White Man's Burden" will lead to more interracial understanding, but given the current backlash against minority empowerment, I'm not optimistic.

Re David J. Fox's Jan. 18 article ("R vs. NC-17--What's the Difference?") on the motion-picture ratings system: The main issue isn't the arbitrary difference between the R and NC-17 rating. The real story is that the new NC-17 rating has not yet accomplished its goal: It hasn't removed the widespread perception that films made exclusively for adult audiences have no redeeming value. Why are so many audiences and exhibitors resistant to the very idea of films intended solely for adults, even those that aren't (in the strictest sense)

Regarding the Oct. 4 Film Clip item on the casting of "The House of the Spirits," the movie version of Isabel Allende's Latin American novel: Clara del Valle Trueba, one of the female leads, is a Chilean woman, a Latina. But I couldn't help noticing that, of the 15 actresses considered for the part, all were white. Furthermore, the film's other lead Latino roles will also be played by white actors, Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close. Will the day ever come in Hollywood when a meaty, sought-after Caucasian lead role is being cast, and the first 15 actors considered for the part are all non-white?

Re David J. Fox's Jan. 18 article ("R vs. NC-17--What's the Difference?") on the motion-picture ratings system: The main issue isn't the arbitrary difference between the R and NC-17 rating. The real story is that the new NC-17 rating has not yet accomplished its goal: It hasn't removed the widespread perception that films made exclusively for adult audiences have no redeeming value. Why are so many audiences and exhibitors resistant to the very idea of films intended solely for adults, even those that aren't (in the strictest sense)

Thanks for your article "Actually, Shakespeare's the Man" [by Susan King, March 16], on the various movies adapted from William Shakespeare's plays. While I realize that any list of Shakespeare-inspired films can never be complete, I thought I would add four more that deserve to be mentioned. One of the best-known cinematic extrapolations from the Bard of Stratford is "Shakespeare in Love," which won the 1998 Academy Award for best picture, and for good reason: This wonderful "what-if?"

So the Republicans are now talking about term limits for Congress. It seems not very long ago they were talking about repealing the 22nd Amendment so Ronald Reagan could run for a third term. I wish they'd make up their minds. ROBERT PAYNE Studio City

The late Robert Payne infuses this exceptional history with the energy and vivid characterizations of a novel. He demonstrates that the Crusades were never a simple battle between the forces of Islam and Christianity, but a complex series of conflicts involving Muslims and Latin and Greek Christians, whose mutual distrust, ignorance and hatred doomed any possibility of a stable peace.